


We have secrets too

by DemonOfTheWoods (AmericaWasntLost)



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Short Chapters, and they love eachother, domestic pynch, pynch - Freeform, they're idiots and i love them, what the kids do when mom and dad aren't around
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-07-29 17:46:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16269236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmericaWasntLost/pseuds/DemonOfTheWoods
Summary: Since Blue and Gansey are sneaking around, we might as well too.





	1. Where to? Anywhere

Ronan had never been a fan of cell phones. He didn't like being reachable at any given time. He questioned why he even had one, he never picked it up when people called. 

Until Adam started calling him, he liked his phone a lot more when Adam’s number popped up every night. It started out with Adam needing someone to talk to about Blue and Gansey. The secrets they were keeping, their lack of trust in the other boys, them feeling the need to sneak around. The nightly ritual continued even after Adam was talked out. Every night around midnight Ronan waited for Adam to get off of from job #3.  Sometimes his work ran later than usual, causing Ronan to have a staring contest with his hunk of plastic and wires. The night always went the same.

His phone rang.

He picked up Adam.

They drove away into the darkness.

It was always in a different direction, away from the normal routes. Neither wanted to run into Gansey, this was their own private thing. Sometimes Adam would pull out a broken compass and spin the needle to determine their direction. Sometimes he would bring his deck of tarot cards. Sometimes they would just drive, and take turns picking which road to turn on or to keep going straight. Either way, it always began with the question.

“Where to?” Adam blinked up at him from the passenger seat. 

Ronan shrugged and put the car in gear. “Anywhere.”

Ronan meandered his way to the interstate and let the horses sing. He felt more alive whenever Adam was around, it didn’t matter where they were headed.  He rested his arm on the console, strategically placing it to be in contact with Adam. Testing the waters. He could feel the other boy's gaze, and then warmth as he leaned into it. Ever so slightly. They'd done this every night this week, but Ronan didn't know where to go from here. He didn't know what this was, or if it was all in his imagination. 

They continued to drive in silence, Ronan peeking glances out of the corner of his eye. Adam had his eyes closed, possibly on the edge of sleep. Ronan felt a pang of guilt, with what little sleep Adam got every night he should be in bed, not out riding in cars with boys. 

"Adam?" Ronan whispered, not wanting to wake him if he was asleep. 

Adam started, turned toward his window, and then to Ronan and slowly opened his eyes. "What was that?"

"That was me. Do you want to go home?" 

"Uh... No." He squinted at the road ahead, "Take this exit." 

Ronan obliged, slamming on the brakes to barely make the ramp. The road soon turned to dirt, leading into a foggy forest. He glanced at Adam uncertainly, but the delicate boy was focused on the road ahead. Adam caught his gaze and gave him a slight smile as if to say  _ we're going the right way _ . 

A few miles down the bumpy dirt road it dead-ended at a small dirt lot.

Ronan rolled to a stop and yanked the parking brake. "So did you bring me out here to kill me? It's a prime location." 

Adam stepped out of the car. "Don't joke about that." And slammed the door. 

Ronan shut off the engine and followed Adam to a faint trail through the woods. In the pitch black night, he was guided only by his friend's pale head of hair. The stature of the forest oddly reminded him of Cabeswater, except it was less alive than their beloved magic-infused land. This area was far from the ley line, no heartbeat to give it a supernatural vibe. 

Adam looked over his shoulder and grinned, ahead of him lay a clearing with a pond. The water was glassy and sparkled with the light of a million stars from up above.

“Jesus. This is amazing, how did you know it was here?”

“I came here when I was younger,” He squinted slightly. “I think. I had a dream about it last night.” 

Ronan nodded, understanding. He was well familiar with confusing dreams and reality. He could see how this could be mistaken for a dream; soft mist curled at the edges of the water, wildflowers dotted the clearing in shades of purple and blue, and lightning bugs flashed out of sync as they danced through the trees. 

The boys sat by the edge of the water looking up at the stars. Ronan touched his fingertips to Adam’s, whose cheeks started to turn rosy.

_ Fuck it, _ he thought and laced his fingers into Adam’s. 

Adam stared at him. “Ronan...?” 

“I love you.” Ronan squeezed his hand.

Adam’s mouth opened but no words came out, he was too stunned to speak.

Ronan got up and headed down the path to the car, hissing curses at himself along the way. 

“Ronan, wait,” Adam called after him from a few strides back. “Lynch!” 

Ronan slumped over the car, pounding his fist on the roof.

“What the hell man?” Adam punched him in the ribs. “You spring that on me and just take off?” 

“I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean to say it,” Ronan opened the car door. “Let’s just go.” 

“No, we’re talking about this.” Adam pushed the door shut and faced Ronan. “I mean, is it true?” 

Ronan locked eyes with him and nodded. Adam swore. “ _ I like you _ , dumbass. Please stop self-destructing.” 

Ronan wrapped him in a warm embrace and whispered in his ear, “Oh, thank god.”

 

Ronan and Adam held hands all along the drive home, intoxicated from the night air and new-found romance. Ronan cranked the bass all the way up, wanting to feel the vibrations through every fiber of his being. He didn't want to let another day go by without Adam by his side.

Adam shifted in his seat. "No one has ever said that to me before."

Ronan squeezed his hand and looked over, eyes sad but understanding. "I'm here to change that."


	2. Saturday Mornings

Adam was fast asleep in the passenger seat by the time they arrived at St. Agnes. His head rested on the window with a hand tucked under his chin. Ronan almost didn't want to wake him, he never looked so relaxed and at peace. Adam was always on guard, checking his mannerisms and filtering his speech. Trying to blend in, not letting his roots show. 

Ronan scooped him from the passenger seat and headed to the church. It was eerily quiet at this time of night, all but for Adam's keys jingling from his belt loop. Ronan unclipped them and opened the door, then climbed up the creaky stairs as silently as possible. He tucked Adam into bed and sat on the floor holding his hand. He traced the veins down his wrist into his palm, feeling the roughness of each callous, the smoothness of each scar. He pressed Adam's hand to his lips, he thought about how badly he wanted to put those delicate fingers in his mouth. He put Adam's hand down to take away the temptation; he would wait for a better time. 

Eventually, his eyelids grew heavy, and his thoughts began to swirl. He relaxed and drifted away into euphoria.

Ronan dreamed, for once, of something normal. Adam sat at the dining room table at The Barns, reading the paper and drinking coffee. He said "Good morning" as Ronan walked up to him, and stood up to kiss him. The scene shifted, and he saw him and Adam sitting together at Church, in the pew with Declan and Matthew. It shifted again, this time they were walking hand in hand through fields of marigold and Queen Anne's lace. The scene was ablaze with the orange light of sunset. They were laughing and talking happily. 

Ronan woke with a smile on his face, a rare occurrence for him. 

"Good morning." Adam sat across from him, a mug of steaming coffee in each hand. He offered one to Ronan, who accepted. 

Ronan's eyes went wide as he noticed the morning paper on the floor next to Adam. "Am I dreaming?" 

Adam pinched him, but his vision stayed the same. "Let's say no. Why?"

"Nevermind." He shrugged off the feeling of deja vu. "What's on the docket today? Hunting for everyone’s favorite Welsh king, or are we left to our own devices?" 

"Gansey called your phone earlier so I answered, he was checking to see if you were still alive. I told him I was ninety-five percent sure you were only asleep on my floor. He said Ninos at six but was vague about his plans before then. While he’s stealing away with Blue, what are we going to do?” 

“We’re going to put our PJs on and watch some cartoons. There’s a theater on the outskirts of town that plays them on Saturday mornings; they serve an all you can eat cereal buffet too. I’ve gone with Matthew a few times, I think you’ll love it.”

 

The theater was no more than a studio apartment above a Chinese restaurant filled with couches of various shapes and sizes, but it was perfect.  They filled up several bowls with cereal and carried them on trays to the sitting area. The theater was empty except for a small group in the front row, so they took to an ugly red couch in the back. 

The theater played all the classics that Ronan had seen hundreds of times growing up. When Niall was alive, Saturday morning at The Barns wasn’t too different than this. Adam, however, seemed to be new to this realm. He laughed loudly every time Tom outsmarted Jerry, every time Wile E. Coyote blew himself up instead of the Roadrunner. 

Ronan found himself watching Adam’s reactions more than the screen. He loved how Adam leaned forward intensely as the characters set traps for each other, and the crinkle around his eyes when he laughed. Ronan's heart swelled, he wondered how he got so lucky to have such a beautiful person in his life.  He caressed Adam's cheek with his hand, thinking about how much he would like to kiss his rosy lips. 

Adam caught his gaze, raising a thin eyebrow. 

“Hi,” Ronan said, sheepishly. 

“Hi.”

Adam put his hand over Ronan’s and closed his eyes, a warm smile spreading across his face. 

“You aren’t very good at closing the deal,” Adam commented, eyes still closed. 

“What?” 

“Kiss me you fool.”

Ronan pushed Adam down on the couch, blue eyes locked on blue eyes. When their lips touched, the world exploded into fireworks. They were everywhere, but also nowhere. Nothing else existed, just Ronan Lynch and Adam Parrish. Even in a life surrounded by magic, Ronan had never experienced it like this. His body filled with warmth and desire as he pulled on Adam's lower lip, he wanted more but restrained himself. He tucked his face into Adam's neck, breathing him in, enjoying the moment.

By the time they sat up the house lights were on and the screen was blank, the other people long gone. Once they left the theater, Ronan pressed the keys to the BMW in Adam's hand. 

"You drive." He said as he climbed into the passenger seat. Ronan never let anyone drive his car, but Adam wasn't just anyone. His dad's old car was special to him, and so was this boy.


	3. Bull in a china... barn?

A few days later, Adam stormed around the farmhouse at The Barns in a fit. He wanted to smash something, everything, but the things around him in no way belonged to him. His rage scared him in a way, he didn’t want to mimic his demon of a father. 

_ I am not him. I am better than that. This isn’t who I am. I am my own person.  _

He grabbed fistfuls of his hair and yanked in frustration. The pain helped a little.

He’d gotten into a fight with Blue. 

He didn't like fighting with the people he cared about.

He went out to the driveway and kicked the slick tires of the BMW. As he kicked, he let out strings of less than elegant profanities. He’d been spending too much time with Ronan. He wasn’t entirely sure if he was swearing from frustration anymore, or if it was because of the pain in his toes. 

“Who pissed in your cheerios?” Ronan crossed his arms on the back of the car, head cocked to one side, examining the situation. His skin was sunkissed from working in the fields and he looked lithe as a fox bent over the car. Adam had been in such a spiral he didn’t hear him approach. 

“Blue.” Adam mumbled, “I mean, who does she this she  _ is _ ? Gansey too, they’re being so  _ stupid _ .” 

“Well, you know how much I love damaging property. But  _ shit _ dude, not the car!” 

“Just the tires!” Adam started, then, “Sorry.” 

“Come on.” 

Ronan led him to one of the many barns, one Adam hadn't been in before and shoved open the sliding doors.

He pulled a rope that caused a horrific metal-on-metal screech, and then sunlight flooded through the rafters. Inside was filled with hundreds upon hundreds of dusty ceramic plates, cups, and bowls. The floor was covered in bits of china and bullet casings; the mess was beautiful in a way. Far down the aisle, rows of decorative plate stands stood empty on a table. Adam dusted off a plate to reveal gold embedded in an intricate pattern, it was so thin he feared it would shatter in his hands. 

“These look expensive.” Adam commented, “Mrs. Gansey expensive.”

“Probably,” Ronan replied. “She’d go postal if she saw this.” 

Ronan took the plate from him and dunked it on the floor. He laughed wickedly when he saw Adam’s horrified reaction.  “Come on. If you’re going to break shit, you might as well do it right.”

Ronan selected a stack of plates and set them up on the table. He unlocked the feed room and pulled out safety glasses, a pair of Red Ryder bb guns, a slingshot, a baseball bat, and an assortment of throwing stars and knives.

He spread them all out on a table then picked up the bat. 

“Batter up, Parrish.” He handed the bat and a pair of glasses to Adam, who still looked concerned. 

“Are you sure? Some of these look priceless.”

“They were dreamed for breaking. Welcome to the Niall Lynch Institute for Anger Management.” 

Adam cracked a smile and assumed a position. Ronan pitched him the most delicate looking teacup he’d ever seen, upon contact with the bat it exploded into a million tiny pieces. 

“Another.” Adam demanded, then added softly, “Please.” 

Ronan threw a gravy boat but Adam missed, it tumbled awkwardly through the air until it smashed into the sliding door. 

_ "Another." _

Ronan pitched him a whole dinner set worth, most of which Adam missed. Adam's triumphant smile at every good hit was contagious, Ronan found himself smiling and laughing along. They eventually grew bored and turned to the table of weapons. Adam picked up one of the bb guns and clicked the safety off. He aimed down the aisle and pulled the trigger, he hit a plate dead-center causing it to break in half. Ronan dug up some butter knives and notched one in the slingshot with a devilish grin. He was a pretty good shot and most would hit their mark, but every now and then one would fly off and cause stacks of plates to crash to the floor. They filled the barn with the musical chorus of shattering glass. Adam had never had a chance to destroy things with such repose, breaking something usually meant having to pay for it, either with a new bruise across his brow or with cash that he couldn't afford to spare. Satisfied with his plate massacre and his annoyance from earlier long forgotten, Adam found a seat by the sheet metal wall to watch Ronan. 

Ronan was launching teacups at other teacups with the slingshot. He had yet to miss a shot, even when he began to use full-size dinner plates as ammo. Adam wondered how much time Ronan had to have spent in here to pull that off. 

The room was filled with orange and red as the sun began to set, and Ronan came over and held out a hand to pull Adam to his feet. They set off to the house, holding hands in the waning light. 

Adam pulled the door open, but Ronan gently pushed it closed. 

"You don't still like her, do you?"

Adam turned to face him, "Blue? No. I'm happy they're together. Her and Gansey are perfect for each other." He stroked his hand down Ronan's head, it was prickly from not being shaved, then added, "And so are we."

Ronan smiled, nodded, and pushed Adam against the farmhouse door to kiss him. Despite the warm, humid Virginia night, Adam shivered. Ronan felt it and pulled away, but Adam hooked his fingers through Ronan's belt loops to pull him back in. 

"Thank you," Adam whispered, loosening his grip. "For today."

Ronan pulled one of Adam's hands to his mouth and kissed it softly, "Thank you for existing."


End file.
